


Stability: The Next Chapter

by SuzySue



Series: Gabriela Trevelyan [4]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Ambiguous Female Inquisitor, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bipolar Disorder, Bipolar Inquisitor, Darkness, Depression, F/M, Family, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Loss of Control, Love, Mental Breakdown, Mental Health Issues, Mental Instability, Romance, Sexual Content, Suicidal Thoughts, Trespasser, Trespasser DLC
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-19
Updated: 2016-09-19
Packaged: 2018-08-16 02:57:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,281
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8084038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SuzySue/pseuds/SuzySue
Summary: For two years, Gabriela Trevelyan has lived a happy, stable life with her husband and child in Skyhold. But when Divine Victoria calls the Exalted Council in Halamshiral and the Anchor on Gabby's hand suddenly lights up again, she is forced to leave that life behind. The events at the Winter Palace threaten to tear her little family apart and once again Gabby will have to battle her own mind as well as a new enemy. Focuses on mental health issues and coping.This is the sequel to Stability. I would recommend reading that story before starting on this one.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Hello and welcome (back)!  
> For those of you wondering - don't worry, I'll still continue to post updates of "Through His Eyes". I just couldn't wait any longer with writing and posting the first chapter of this sequel. 
> 
> So... enjoy! And please comment! I love to hear your thoughts and I always learn from feedback.

Gabriela Trevelyan woke up to the sun rising over the mountains and warming her skin. She opened her eyes slowly, her eyelids fluttering as she got used to the bright light. She smiled when not only she became aware of the warm hand resting lazily on her stomach, but also the man it belonged to sleeping peacefully next to her. 

Cullen Rutherford, love of her life, father of her child. She rolled onto her side, facing him, and slid her hand up his arm lightly. Even when he was asleep and his body was fully relaxed she could feel the strong muscles underneath the sun-kissed skin. Her hand travelled farther, along his shoulder and down his back and as she drew her nails over his skin softly she heard him sigh contentedly in response. 

She pulled his hand to her mouth and pressed a feather light kiss on it before she mumbled “My love? Are you awake?”. 

He made a low humming sound, which she knew meant that he was indeed waking up but would need some more motivation to fully emerge from his slumber. She would not mind providing that, she thought with a smile. 

Her eyes flickered towards the small crib next to the bed to make sure their son was still asleep before she quietly moved her body closer to Cullen’s. Her arms snaked around his waist and she pulled herself flush against his body as she pressed her lips to his chest and neck. She suckled on his earlobe and whispered “Cullen… wake up…”. She smiled as he groaned softly and she felt his body wake up. His arms found their way around her waist as well and he pulled her even closer, claiming her mouth with his without even opening his eyes. She felt his desire growing against her thigh as much as she felt her own between her legs. She moved her leg to hook around his waist and rolled her hips forward. 

Cullen gasped and pulled away for a moment, his eyes opening, two deep golden pools of passion looking at her hungrily. “Good morning” he said with a small crooked grin. Once again Gabby was overwhelmed by the love she felt for this man. She moved one of her hands to cup his face and sighed. 

“I love waking up like this” she said softly. She wasn’t away from Skyhold as often as before the battle with Corypheus, but reports of remaining rifts still came in and she was still the only person who could close them. She would sometimes be away for weeks and she always missed her husband immensely, especially when she tried to sleep in her tent on her bedroll, alone. He had told her once that even though he rarely had nightmares anymore, whenever she was away they were more frequent and much more daunting than when she was at home. Sometimes it seemed like both of them were only whole when their individually broken souls were together. She wondered sometimes if that was unhealthy, if they were too dependent on each other, but it was so easy to be with him now that she couldn’t imagine it being wrong. 

“As do I” Cullen responded, pulling her from her thoughts. He pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. “What is on your mind, my love?”. 

Gabby chuckled. “A lot, as usual” 

He smiled as one of his hands moved down to cup her buttock and he pulled her hips against his groin. “I can help with that” he said in a low voice, and Gabby’s eyes rolled back as she moaned softly. 

She wanted him. She always wanted him. Her body responded to him immediately and since their lovemaking session last night had left them both unclothed in the bed, all she needed to do was move her hand between their bodies and guide him into her. 

He rolled her onto her back, towering over her and burying his manhood deep inside her, drawing a gasp from her lips. His hands moved to cup her face and his forehead rested against hers as he stared into her eyes. “Maker’s breath, Gabriela… I love you so much” he said. 

She remembered a time when his intensity and sincerity had scared her. He’d done this the first time they made love as well, and she remembered how his words had terrified her more than anything ever had. Now, however, her heart was completely and unmistakably his, and she could only feel it grow whenever he uttered the same words. There was no doubt in her mind that he loved every part of her, inside and out. 

“I love you too” she moaned, raising her head to catch his lips with hers. 

He moved slowly, never breaking eye contact. They made as little noise as possible as to prevent little Marcus from waking up, but Gabby couldn’t stop herself from whimpering and moaning softly whenever Cullen pushed himself inside her so deeply that it almost hurt. Her hands desperately clutched at his hips, her fingers digging into his skin, silently begging him for more. The slow movement drove her insane but she also wanted this to last as long as possible, before… 

Cullen froze when there was a sound coming from the crib. 

Gabby rolled her eyes and dropped her head back onto her pillow and mouthed the word _fuck._ “Come on” she whispered, pulling at Cullen’s hips, “finish for me at least”. 

Cullen seemed to hesitate. “I don’t know, it seems…” 

“ _don’t you dare stop now, Rutherford”_ Gabby hissed at him, drawing a small nervous chuckle from Cullen as he started moving again, his eyes flitting between Gabby and the crib next to the bed. 

He came too soon, rolling off her almost immediately afterwards. Gabby was left feeling strangely half-satisfied and she let out a frustrated groan. This was not the first time this had happened. It would certainly not be the last time. 

Cullen pressed a small kiss to her lips. “I’m sorry, love. I promise we will continue this later” he said before lifting himself from the mattress. He dressed himself in simple plainclothes and then reached into the crib to lift Marcus, who was now fully awake and making happy sounds. 

Her frustration quickly receded when she saw her husband and son together. The smile on Cullen’s face and the twinkle in his eyes, the way Marcus giggled as Cullen tickled his tiny feet – it warmed her heart. Her hand found its way to her lower belly and rested there.

“I wonder if he’ll like his baby brother” she wondered out loud.

“Or sister” Cullen added with a wide smile while Marcus pulled on one of his father’s stray curls. “I do like the idea of having a daughter”.

“Daddy’s little girl” Gabby said with a chuckle. 

“Da da” Marcus babbled, melting Gabby’s heart. The sound was quickly followed by a low rumbling coming from her stomach.

Cullen cocked an eyebrow at her and Gabby shrugged. “Hey, I’m eating for two, remember?”

* * *

As they broke their fast in the main hall, Gabby spotted Jenna approaching them. She smiled at seeing the once so insecure young girl who had grown into a young woman over the last two years. Officially, Jenna was still Gabby’s messenger but they were so much more than that – more like sisters. Jenna had a wide smile on her face as she extended her hands to take Marcus from Cullen.

“Good morning” she said in an upbeat voice, completely focused on Marcus and hardly acknowledging Gabby or Cullen.

After a few minutes she finally turned her eyes towards Gabby. “Josephine requests your presence in the war room as soon as possible” she said. “You too,” she added, looking at Cullen. “Don’t worry, I’ll watch this little monster in the meantime”.

“Please don’t call my son a monster” Cullen sighed, rolling his eyes, but he smiled while saying it.

Gabby only frowned. A meeting this early in the morning could only mean it was urgent. And she could only think of one thing that would be _this_ urgent. She felt a nervous flutter when she realised that she would have to leave Skyhold again probably very soon.

Jenna left with Marcus as Gabby and Cullen finished their breakfast. They walked to the war room in silence. Gabby was lost in thought. The relationship between the Inquisition and Ferelden had become increasingly strained over the last few months – The Inquisition still had a great amount of influence as well as a large army and the Ferelden ambassador had repeatedly expressed his concerns at how suspicious that was, since Corypheus had been defeated almost two years ago. It almost seemed like he was accusing them of trying to seize control of Ferelden, which Gabby thought was ridiculous. The Inquisition’s only purpose was to aid those in need and retain the hard-fought peace in Thedas.

As she’d suspected, the purpose of the meeting was to inform Gabby and Cullen that a raven had come that morning, carrying the message that Divine Victoria had officially called the Exalted Council in Halamshiral. Gabby had known it would happen sooner or later, but the idea of traveling to the Winter Palace again to meet with the people who would decide the fate of the Inquisition – and indirectly the future of her little family – didn’t appeal to her at all.

“Why would Divine Victoria call the Exalted Council? She’s kept Orlais from bothering us for the last two years” Cullen said, not entirely able to conceal his annoyance.

“At increasing political cost, yes” Josephine said pointedly. “She has done all she can, but the Exalted Council has become necessary. Orlais would control us, but our real concern is Ferelden. They would see us disbanded entirely”

She turned to Gabby, who had been silent through most of the meeting. “We should leave for Halamshiral tomorrow, Inquisitor” the Ambassador said.

Gabby sighed, trying to ignore the gnawing feeling in her stomach. “Alright, then. Make sure everybody’s ready”. She dismissed her advisors and turned to the war table, letting her eyes glide over the map that had once been covered with strategically placed pawns. Now it was simply a reminder, an ornament. Her fingers traced one of the tears in the thick paper where once a dagger had stuck in the wood, indicating they had won a battle there. She looked at the position of the tear – _The Western Approach._ She sighed again. 

She felt his warm body behind her before he spoke. His hand reached out and rested on top of hers, his fingers folding around hers. His other arm circled around her waist and she closed her eyes and let her head fall back against his chest. “Whatever happens, we will be fine” he said into her ear and the low rumble of his voice instantly soothed her. “If they decide that the Inquisition will continue to exist, we will only have wasted a few weeks of our time and nothing will change for us. If they decide that the Inquisition will need to be disbanded, then we can do whatever we want. Go wherever we want to go. We can live a simple, peaceful life with our little family like we talked about once”.

“I wish it were that easy, love” she said softly, raising her left hand to look at the mark on it, glowing as strongly as it ever had. Even though she would love to leave the Inquisition behind there were still rifts that needed to be closed. There were still villages that were destroyed in the war that needed to be rebuilt. The Inquisition had the power to do these things. As long as she bore this mark, a reminder of her life as Inquisitor, she would never feel comfortable living a simple life on a farm somewhere. And as far as she knew, she would bear the anchor for the rest of her life. The only person who could have offered any insight into what it was exactly and how to get rid of it, had vanished. 

 _Solas._ Again she wondered where the elf had gone, and why he had disappeared at all. She’d had a strained relationship with him but he had stood by her side until the end, saved her life in battle more than once. 

As if in response to her thoughts, the mark on her hand crackled and glowed a little brighter for a second, sending a small bolt of electricity up her arm. She winced and Cullen’s arms around her tightened. “Are you alright?” he asked, the worry in his voice plain. 

He always worried about her. “I’m fine” she said, lowering her hand to rub his arms that were now both firmly locked around her waist. She looking up and over her shoulder, smiling at the sight of her husband’s ridiculously handsome face. His frown slowly faded and he tilted his head to kiss her softly. 

“You’ve always been a terrible liar” he murmured, but there was a smile in his voice as he obviously knew her well enough not to pry. 

Gabby’s eyes moved back to the map in front of them for a moment. “So, back to the Winter Palace, eh?” she said, changing the subject, “Are you _excited?”._ Her last word dripped with sarcasm. 

“Terribly” Cullen replied in a dry voice, making Gabby chuckle. He hated the politics, masks and fakeness of the noblemen- and women as much as she did.

 _But the coming weeks will definitely be interesting_ , she thought to herself, not entirely able to ignore the uneasiness caused by the unexpected reawakening of the Anchor.


End file.
